Slow Cooker Matzo Ball Soup

I made my very first Matzo Ball Soup yesterday. In the crockpot.

I called my friend Jennifer and she talked me through how to make the broth and Matzo dough--she's not gluten free, but after a lot of googling and texting to confirm my hard-core journalistic researching I figured out what I should do.

AND IT WORKED.

[insert Crush voice from Finding Nemo] I SO TOTALLY ROCK.

This is a 2-day process, or at least a really, really full day process. First we're going to make the homemade chicken broth/soup.

The Ingredients
serves 6-8

   

3 pounds bone-in chicken parts
2 onions, peeled, cut into quarters
6 cloves garlic, peeled with cloves intact
1 cup baby carrots
3 ribs celery, cut in large chunks, leaves okay
1 teaspoon whole peppercorns
1 tablespoon kosher salt
12 cups water
1 package gluten free matzo ball mix, or make your own (recipe below)

gluten free matzo balls
makes 8-10 or so

  
1/2 cup finely ground almond meal
1/2 cup potato starch
2 tablespoons ground flax seed
2 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons dill
2 tablespoons vegetable shortening (Crisco)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Use a hand-held or stand mixer to blend the ingredients together to form a dough. Refrigerate for 1-2 hours before using in soup.

The Directions
Use a 6-quart slow cooker.  Place the chicken into your slow cooker. I used chicken quarters, and did try to take as much of the skin off as I can (because of my weird issues). Add vegetables and seasoning. Pour in a bunch of water (4 cups per pound of chicken)—be careful, your pot will be quite full. Cover, and cook on low for 8 to 10 hours. Unplug the slow cooker, and let it sit for 3 hours, or until the meat is cool enough to handle.

Remove meat from pot, and discard the bones. Scoop out the vegetables and set aside. Some people prefer their matzo soup to be simply broth, some like chunks of meat and vegetables—it’s up to you. I decided to get rid of the onion and celery (the garlic kind of melted into a paste), but kept the chicken and carrots.  

Strain the broth through a cheesecloth or fine-mesh sieve to remove the peppercorns and extra bits. Return the broth to the slow cooker.

Plug the cooker back in and cook on high for 2 hours. While the broth is reheating, mix the matzo dough (if using packaged matzo, prepare according to the written instructions).

Homemade matzo dough.  Don't handle it too much; you want it light and fluffy

Once your soup is hot, drop rounded spoonfuls of matzo into your slow cooker. Cover, and cook on high for about 30 minutes, or until the dough is cooked through and “bounces” in the broth when poked with a spoon.

the matzo balls bounce when you poke them with a spoon!

Serve and enjoy!

The Verdict
I must admit, since I've never had this soup before, I don't have anything to compare it to. But we liked it. The five in my family ate every last smidgen in our bowls, and I packaged up a little tupperware to send home to my mom and grandma. I really liked the dill flavor. Everytime I cook with dill, I'm reminded more and more that it's such an under-utilized herb in my pantry. I hope you enjoy this soup--I look forward to making it again and again in the years to come.

Thank you to Jennifer, for holding my hand (AGAIN)!

other recipes you might like:
chicken and dumpling soup
apple dumplings
honey cake
sweet mustard roast 
I just Spent The Whole Day on Pinterest...